月饼是我国各族人民喜爱的传统节日特色食品（specialty）。中秋节那天，人们一边赏月，一边吃月饼。一个圆圆的月饼全家分着吃，代表着家人团圆。吃月饼的习俗始于唐代（the Tang Dynasty）。当时月饼作为皇家祭品于中秋节所食，至明清时期（the Ming and Qing Dynasties）成为全民共同的饮食习俗。时至今日，月饼的品种繁多，风味也因地各异，其中广式月饼（Cantonese-style moon cake）和京式月饼广受欢迎。

 

【解析】

1.第1句中的定语“我国各族人民喜爱的”较长，可将其处理为后置定语，以插入语形式置于主语之后，整句表达为Moon cake, loved by people of all nationalities in China, is a…，但因插人语过长，整个句型显繁冗，不妨将此后置定语转换为状语，置于句首，以平衡句型。

 

2.第2句中的“一边……一边……”可用while来连接两个动作。强调哪个动作，就把包含此动作的分句主句，此处把“一边吃月饼”作为主句，表达为people eat moon cakes.“一边赏月”表持续动作，用现在进行时译出，表达为while they are enjoying the moon，注意增译后半句的主语，用they来指代，避免重复。

 

3.第3句中的“代表着家人团圆”可用分词短语symbolizing the reunion of the family members来表达作伴随状语。

 

4.第4句及第5句的前半句都是讲述唐朝吃月饼的习俗，故可将这两部分合译为一句，第5句后半句则另译成一句。注意第5句后半句“至明清时期成为全民共同的饮食习俗”的逻辑主语是“吃月饼的习俗”，与前一句一致，该句可用It替代，以避免重复。

 

5.最后一句中的“风味也因地各异”可处理为“品种繁多”的补充说明，用介词短语with different flavors in various regions 表达。

 

【参考译文】

Loved by people of all nationalities in China, the moon-cake is a traditional festival specially. On Mid-autumn Festival, people eat moon cakes while they are enjoying the moon. A round moon cake is shared by the whole family, symbolizing the reunion of the family members. The custom of eating moon cakes can date back to the Tang Dynasty when the moon cakes were eaten as a royal sacrifice on the Mid-autumn Day. It became a diet custom for the whole nation in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Now, moon cakes are of numerous kinds, with different flavors in various regions. Among them, moon cakes of Cantonese-style and Beijing-style are widely popular.

 

吉利数字（auspicious number）在中国文化一直起着重要的作用。不少人认为数字6、8、9吉利，因为它们跟一些具有积极含义的汉字发音相同或相近。如8与“发”的发音相似，象征着繁荣和财富；9与“久”发音一样，意为“长长久久”。因此，很多人在选择手机号码和车牌号码（license plate number）时会不惜花钱去选取这些数字。相反，没有人会选4，因为4与“死”发音一致，是不吉利的数字（inauspicious number）。

 

【解析】

1.第2句中的“认为数字6、8、9吉利”可采用结构consider sth. + a. 或consider sth. as sth.来表达。定语“具有积极含义的”较长，故将其处理成后置定语，用介词短语of positive meanings来表达。

 

2.第3句中的“如8与‘发’的发音相似”英译时，按照英语表达习惯，要在“8”前面补上表其性质的词，故增译 number.“象征着繁荣和财富”是“发”的含义，故可将其处理为定语修饰“发”，因此用现在分词短语symbolizing prosperity and wealth 作后置定语来表达，也可用定语从句 which symbolizes prosperity and wealth 表达。

 

3.第4句中的“很多人在选择手机号码……时”，根据英语表达习惯，宜在“手机号码”前增译一个物主代词 their，译为their phone number.“不惜花钱”意即“舍得花一大笔钱”，可用pay out表达。“去选取这些数字”，即让这些数字包括于手机号码和车牌号码中，故“不惟花钱去选取这些数字”译为pay out for these m numbers to be included in…

 

4.最后一句“因为4与‘死’发音一致，是不吉利的数字”可用并列结构译出，表达为it bears the same pronunciation…and is considered to be…。“是不吉利的数字”不应简单地译为 is inauspicious number，而应译为is considered to be inauspicious number，这样才能表达出“人为赋予数字含义”的意思。

 

【译文】

Auspicious numbers have long played an important part in Chinese culture. Many people consider numbers six, eight and nine as the auspicious ones because they have the same or similar sounds to the Chinese characters of positive meanings. For example, the pronunciation of the number "eight" is similar to the character "fa" symbolizing prosperity and wealth. The number "nine" has the same pronunciation with the character "jiu" which means "long lasting". Therefore, many people are willing to pay out for these numbers to be included in their phone numbers and license plate numbers. On the contrary, no one will choose the number 4 because it bears the same pronunciation with the character "si" (die)and is considered to be inauspicious number.